Showing proof of onward travel is one of the big challenges that one-way travelers must face when purchasing a plane ticket. Most destinations in the world will indeed ask for proof that you plan on leaving the country after your stay. But what if you don’t want to have plans and bother with a fixed return ticket? Luckily, there are some solutions you can consider, like renting a real plane ticket for a few dollars with Onward Ticket.
What is proof of onward travel?
First of all, let’s explain what is a “proof of onward travel”. Most countries, whether they require a visa or not, have laws that prevent foreign visitors to stay in their territory for too long. This is, for example, the case of Indonesia, the United States, New Zealand, Indonesia and many more.
In enforcing these laws, they want to make sure you don’t stay in their country to find a job or use other resources without paying taxes. And to make sure of this, they require proof that you’ll exit the country after your stay. Now that the responsibility has been passed to the airline companies, this proof will be checked before you board your flight and then again at immigration as soon as you arrive at the airport.
But what if you want to travel with a one-way ticket because you don’t want to have fixed plans ? Good news for you, several options will allow you to travel exactly your way.
Book a return trip and don’t use it
This is the solution most travelers use. Even if they don’t plan to use their return ticket, they buy it anyway just to be able to show immigration they plan on leaving the country eventually. The biggest advantage is that this solution always works and will allow you through immigration. The drawback, though, is that it’s expensive and you monopolize a seat in the plane that won’t be used in the end. All in all, this is not a solution that we would recommend.
Design or buy a fake onward plane ticket
Some travelers are tempted to design or buy a fake plane ticket to show immigration a proof of onward travel. There are a lot of websites that sell those kinds of tickets online. But this is absolutely not a solution that we’d recommend. First, there is no guarantee that such a ticket will be accepted at the airport as the validity of fake tickets can’t be checked anywhere. Then, this can be considered as forgery, or use of forgery, which is harshly punished by the law in most nations. It’s clearly not worth the risk.
Buy a cheap train / bus / plane onward ticket
Proof of onward travel is not necessarily a return ticket. All you need to prove is that you’ll leave the country before your visa expires. And this can be done with any type of ticket that will take you out of the country. So, what you can do is find a cheap bus or train ticket to anywhere. But again this means you are wasting money for a ticket that won’t be used. The other problem is that those tickets are often hard to book online and they are not automatically accepted by immigration. So, once again, this is not always the best solution.
Rent a ticket with an onward flight booking company
You’ll find a lot of onward flight booking companies online, but all are not equal in terms of quality and customer service. After trying some of them and reading the comments of our readers, here is one we’d particularly recommend: OnwardTicket.com. This company lets you rent a real plane ticket which is valid for 48 hours for only $12, and you also have the option to book a direct flight for an extra $2. This is the solution we’d recommend beyond a doubt for many reasons. First, this is the most economic one, as you get a ticket for as little as $12. Then, every ticket is real and comes with a PNR number that can be checked online by you and by the authorities. Last, but not least, sometimes you might need to actually use the customer service, and it’s simply amazing and fast! So why bother designing a fake ticket or losing money by buying an actual one when this kind of solution exists?
So, are you looking to get a cheap and effective proof of onward travel for your next trip? Here is the best onward ticket service that will allow you to get a real and legal proof of onward travel for as little as $12.
This article is a paid promotion by OnwardTicket.com.
Bryan has visited exactly one more country than his wife, and she won’t let him forget it! Also an avid photographer, he enjoys entrenching himself within the local culture in order to learn more about the people of a place. He is the co-founder of Budget Your Trip and loves a good adventure, an exotic meal, or a passionate conversation about global events.
